Buddhism: Philosophy or Religion - Coursework Example

Philosophy Essay Buddhism – Philosophy or Religion Introduction Different people in different s have dissimilar perspectives on what Buddhism is; some strongly believe it is a religion like any other while others claim it to be just mere philosophy that clearly defines aesthetics, logic, politics and social philosophy. However, despite the numerous perspectives and perceptions of what Buddhism is; the query still remains whether it is a religion or a philosophy, and this can only be explained if one critically evaluated the definitions of religion and philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to examine Olson’s study on whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy putting into consideration some of the theories applied, the history of Buddhism, Buddha – its religious figure and its literature. The paper will not lie on one side of the thesis question i.e. whether Buddhism is a religion or philosophy, but it will evaluate both notions mostly according to Olson’s conclusions on the matter. In the book ‘The Different Path of Buddhism’ Olson starts by first making a quick account of the early Buddhist tradition of how an old woman, friends with the monks, died and the monks were inconsolable. After which Buddha told them the story about kaka Jataka, the crow and the day when one of the crows got very drunk and was swept out to the sea and drowned; he used the story for symbolism where the sea was a metaphor for the suffering associated with life and the crows represented the human beings (Olson 1). Olson says that during this time of Buddhism, Buddha was considered an common man of flesh and blood, and an exceptional fascinating teacher; not a manifestation of divine being. He is best known as an educator, philosopher, and founder of a major world religion; significantly, he is not like other religious figures that were considered to be holy beings like Jesus (Christianity) or Muhammad (Islam). However, like these other religious figures, Buddha gathered a small group of followers who were attracted to his charisma and teaching, but insisted on the creation of a monastic community that shaped those who joined it and influenced Indian culture, and the laity who were necessary for its support (Olson 3). Before the formation of Buddhism, there were only two religious movements in India; the Brahmins – Brahmanical culture and the holy wanderers – Indian culture; notably, the Buddhists supported the holy wanderers and rejected certain ways of the Brahmanical religion but accepted others (Olson 5). Buddhism was later formed from an incorporation of some features of their initial movement, the holy wanderers, and the Brahmins; this resulted to rivalry between the Buddhists and Brahmins. The disagreement was mainly on the fact that Buddhism believed in Karma, rebirth and survival of human personality after death; as a result, there is text in Buddhists literature where the writers compared Brahmins with dogs. Olson’s study of these particular sectors in the first chapter of the book raises a lot of questions on the matter at hand, especially on how Buddhism was initially formed; significantly, it started off as just a movement but ended of as a religious movement. From what people know most religious movements were formed out of belief and faith in a supreme being, for instance, Christians believe in God who is their creator and Allah for the Islam religion; however, in this case, despite there being Buddha the movement was actually formed to oppose the ways of the Brahmins. However, there are different occasions where the Buddhists fight for religious purposes, purposefully because of what they believe (Olson 9). Moreover, Olson tells the tale about Buddha being born before, but as an elephant; ‘the person known historically as the Buddha, was born as an elephant during one of his earlier lifetimes’, after which the elephant dies saving the lives of the people (Olson 22). According to Buddhist literature the tale represents six significant themes of the in early Buddhism; the teachings of Buddha, the path of purification, the spirit of compassion in Buddhism, importance of giving, acceptance and conviction in the belief of rebirth, and it manifests a belief that someone as extra-ordinary as Buddha needed prior modes of existence and good deeds in order to be born as a human being with the potential of becoming an enlightened being. Olson does not comment much on this but argues that most of the tales told about Buddha and his teachings have no assurance of the exact words he used since they were all transmitted by an oral tradition for long. Moreover, there is no evidence on Buddha’s physical stature or facial appearance and there is only a little to say about his personality with utter conviction. Considerably, this argument to some extent makes sense since most of the information about Buddha has be extracted from tales and stories told from the past; this unlike the other religions where the religious history is very clear with the followers even knowing the physical stature. Olson says according to the observation he has made from the narrative of Buddha, he will always remain a mysterious figure; but he still remains to play a paradigmatic function in various Buddhist countries, serving as a model of behaviour thought and way of life. Dreams are known to play significant roles in many religious traditions since they are at times sources of prophecy and a recognized form of cognition; extensively, Olson uses Mahamaya’s (future mother of Buddha) dream to elaborate more on how Buddha came to be (Olson 23). The dream brings Buddha to the spotlight even before he is born creating a connection between the initial Buddha (elephant) and the human Buddha, which is the reason as to why it is taken with a lot of connotation. Nonetheless, after the child is born things do not go according to how the dream was interpreted; significantly, the interpretation was that the child would become either a universal monarch or a Buddha, depending on the course he would choose to follow. Even though the Brahmins did not specify the particular path that Buddha was supposed to follow, it was definitely the one that he followed i.e. a young life of rebellion and problems with his father. Conclusively, I think that Olson’s study is very comprehensive and detailed since he has used a lot of information including the history and beliefs of the Buddhists hence making it spot on. Works Cited Olson, Carlson. The Different Paths of Buddhism: Rutgers University Press. 2005. Print. Read More